Cowley Blitz

Cowley
Summer Blitz, Monday 25 June 2018

Cowley
Chess Club invites you to its 2018 Summer Blitz Tournament, which
will be held on Monday 25 June at Cowley Chess
Club (at Rose Hill Methodist Church in the Main Hall
downstairs), with Round 1 beginning at 7.15 pm.
All chessplayers are welcome. (Update (18 June): We had also been hoping to
host the OCA Prizegiving for the season
just finishedduring the event, but unfortunately it has not been possible to get the trophies engraved with the winners' names in time.)

There
will be ten games in the Blitz (five rounds playing games with both
colours, with five minutes per player per game). A cash prize
of 10% of the entry fees will be an option for the tournament winner,
with lots of other prizes of books, etc., including grading prizes,
prizes for juniors in various age groups, for the best slow starter,
etc. (see below for lists of prizes and prizewinners in recent blitzes). We
rely on donations of prizes, not only chess books but also other
(non-alcoholic) prizes, and these will be gratefully received.

Round
1 is scheduled to start at 7:15pm. Players who have not notified
their entries in advance are asked to register by 7pm at the venue on
the night, to enable pairing cards to be written and the first round
draw to be completed promptly.

The
Prizegiving for the Blitz will be at approximately 9:45pm. (It will
be possible for young juniors for whom a 9:45pm finish is too late to
play in either two rounds [8:05pm finish approx.] or four rounds
[8:55pm finish approx.] if this is arranged in advance.)

Entry
fee: £3,
to be paid when you arrive on the night. We will also be glad to
receive additional donations for the Lester Millin Memorial Fund,
which supports Cowley junior players.

To
help us make a prompt start, please register your entry in advance if
possibleby
sending an email to blitz@cheekychess.org.ukgiving
the following information or by filling in one of these forms hard
copies of which will be available at the club (or otherwise getting
the information to Gerard O’Reilly):

Name:

Club:

Grade
(Standard-play rather than Rapidplay if you have one):

Age
if under 18 on 1 September 2017:

Finally,
if the entrant is a junior who can play in only the first two (or the
first four) rounds, please specify which:

Advance
registration by email will be accepted until 3pm on Monday 25
June.

Gerard
O’Reilly (gerard@fianchetto.co.uk)

Cowley Christmas Blitz 2017

Attendance at this year's Christmas Blitz, held on Monday 11 December, was seriously affected by the snow the preceding weekend and the very cold weather and icy conditions on the day. In the end, 34 players competed, well down on the previous year. Even the controlling team of Tim Dickinson and Priscilla Morris was depleted, with Tim unable to travel up to Oxford because of the bad weather. For different reasons I was also unable to be there, but with Priscilla in charge and several other club members stepping in to help, all else went well on the night. Csaba Koszta (now of Swindon) improved on his share of first place in the Summer Blitz by winning outright with 8.5 points out of 10. He finished a half-point ahead of Cowley's James Cole, while there was a triple tie in third position, with Oxford City's Phil Hayward, Cowley's Eldar Alizada and rapidly improving junior, Tom Shepherd, now of Bicester Chess Club, all on 7.5 points.

It is a pleasure, as always, to thank:Rose Hill Methodist Church for allowing us the use of the downstairs Hall for the event;the Kidlington Chess Tournament for the loan of equipment;and those who kindly donated prizes for the event or made donations to the Lester Millin Memorial Fund.

I am also very grateful to:Sara Sengenberger and Dave Robson, for the transporting of equipment;Sara and Ellie Sengenberger and Bob Samuels for setting up the hall and equipment; Will Burt for help with setting up and for taking entries on the door;Bill Stanley for acting as compere and for manning the wallcharts to keep the round-by-round scores up to date;Bob Samuels for presenting the prizes;the many people who helped clear up afterwards;and, in particular, Priscilla Morris, who controlled the event efficiently and calmly as ever.

Gerard O'Reilly (30 December 2017)

Cowley Summer Blitz 2017

The Cowley Summer Blitz, held on Monday 26 June, was much the biggest and strongest for a very long time, with 75 players taking part.

In a hard-fought last round, David Zakarian, who had been presented earlier in the evening with the trophy for the revived Oxfordshire Individual Championship, managed to beat frequent Blitz winner Marcus Harvey twice, mating him in the second game with just one second left, and finishing level on 9.5 points with Csaba Koszta. Marcus, who had scored 100% up to that point, finished on 8 points in equal third position with the very talented youngster from Azerbaijan, Muhammad Ismayilov, and Will Burt, both members of Cowley Chess Club.

Cumnor's Daniel Varney could not repeat his Christmas blitz victory in such a very tough field, but still took the prize for the best U18 junior.

The OCA Prizegiving for the season recently ended was held outside in the cool evening after Round 3, and it was good to see so many of the team captains and individual award-winners present to be presented with their trophies.

I am grateful to everyone who helped make the event such a success, especially:Rose Hill Methodist Church for allowing us the use of the downstairs Hall for the event;the Kidlington Chess Tournament for the loan of equipment;those who kindly donated prizes for the event or made donations to the Lester Millin Memorial Fund;John Taylor and Dave Robson, for help with the transporting of equipment;Will Burt, for help with setting up the hall and taking entries on the door; the many people who helped clear up afterwards;Rob Harvey, who manned the wall charts and kept the round-by-round scores up to date very efficiently;and, especially, our controllers Tim Dickinson and Priscilla Morris, who were not fazed by the large number of players, and ran the event quickly and calmly as ever. Gerard O'Reilly (27 June 2017) Cowley
Christmas Blitz 2016

The Cowley Christmas Blitz, held on Monday 5 December, attracted an excellent total of 62 participants, the highest number for many years.

The tournament resulted in a tie on 9 points from 10 games between Daniel Varney (Cumnor) and Cowley's Will Burt, with Daniel taking first prize on the tie-breaking system. Third and fourth place respectively (again separated only on tie-break) were Cowley's Rich Weston and Mike Handley. Congratulations to them and the other prizewinners!

The draw for the Frank Wood Shield was also held before the final round of the Blitz.

Our thanks go to everyone who helped make the event a success, especially:Rose Hill Methodist Church for allowing us the use of the downstairs Hall for the event;the Kidlington Chess Tournament for the loan of equipment;those who kindly donated prizes for the event or made donations to the Lester Millin Memorial Fund;John Taylor and Dave Robson, for help with the transporting of equipment;Will Burt, for help with setting up the hall and taking entries on the door; the many people who helped clear up afterwards;and, especially, our controllers Tim Dickinson and Priscilla Morris, for their usual calm and efficient running of the event.

Gerard O'Reilly (10 December 2016)

Cowley
Summer Blitz 2016

Although over fifty people registered for
this year's Cowley Summer Blitz, held on Monday 27 June, we ended up with a
slightly lower figure of 47 participants. (Perhaps some couldn't resist the
lure of watching live on TV the England v Iceland soccer match at the Euros!)

The tournament resulted in a resounding
win for Cowley's Michael Handley on 9.5 points from 10 games, a point ahead of
Jon D'Souza-Eva and a further half-point clear of James Cole, both of
MCS/Blackbirds. Zoe Varney and Oxford City's Roger Smith shared fourth place
with 7 points each. The full list of prizewinners is as follows:

The presentation the the OCA's trophies from last season was also held before the final round of the Blitz.

Our thanks to everyone who helped make the event a success, especially:Rose Hill Methodist Church for allowing us the use of the downstairs Hall for the event;the Kidlington Chess Tournament for the loan of the equipment we used;those who kindly donated prizes or made donations to the Lester Millin Memorial Fund;John Taylor, for help with the transporting of equipment;Will Burt, for help with setting up the hall and taking entries on the door; the many people who helped clear up afterwards;and, especially, our controllers Tim Dickinson and Priscilla Morris, for their calm and efficient running of the event.

Gerard O'Reilly (6 July 2016)

Cowley
Christmas Blitz 2015

The 2015 Cowley Christmas Blitz was held on Monday 14 December and attracted 54 entrants, the best total for our Christmas Blitz in the years for which I have records. The clear winner, with 9/10, was Witney's Marcus Harvey, the sixth time he has won the Cowley Blitz. The only point he dropped was in the final round against Graham McInnes of Didcot Chess Club. Sharing second place, a point behind, were Jake Holton (Witney), the current British Under-14 champion, and Didcot's Matthew Staniforth. They were followed by five players on 7.5/10. The complete prize list is as follows:

We are grateful to everyone who helped make the event a success, especially:Rose Hill Methodist Church for allowing us the use of the downstairs Hall for the event;the Kidlington Chess Tournament for the loan of the equipment we used;those who kindly donated prizes or made donations to the Lester Millin Memorial Fund;John Taylor, Will Burt, and Dave Robson for particular assistance with the transporting of equipment and setting up;Rob Harvey for manning the wallcharts and keeping the results up to date round by round;the many people who helped clear up afterwards;and, above all, our controllers Tim Dickinson and Priscilla Morris, for their calm and efficient running of the event.

Gerard O'Reilly (19 December 2015)

Cowley Summer Blitz 2015

The 2015 Cowley Summer Blitz was held on Monday 22 June and attracted an excellent turnout, with 57 entrants. The battle for first place ended in a tie between Marcus Harvey and Csaba Koszta (both of Witney Chess Club), who both scored 9 points out of 10 and could not be separated by the tie-break system. They each dropped just one point (when they played each other in the fourth round). Cowley's Anna Wang scored 8 points to take third place on tie-break.

The full list of prizewinners and their scores is as follows:

1st=: Marcus Harvey (Witney) 9/10 Csaba Koszta (Witney)

3rd: Anna Wang (Cowley) 8

4th: Daniel Varney (Cumnor) 8

Best Cowley player: Simon Taylor 6.5

Best visitor: Phil Hayward (Oxford City) 7

Best junior (U18): James Cole (MCS/Blackbirds) 7

Best lady: Francesca Matta (Bicester) 6.5

Best U165: Daniel Rowan (Banbury) 7

Best Cowley U155: Oscar Idle 6

Best visitor U155: Mark Sayers (Cumnor) 6.5

Best U14: Jake Holton (Witney) 6

Best U145: Richard Weston (Witney) 6

Best U130: John Courouble (Cowley Workers) 6

Best ungraded: Pavel Cichy (-) 7

Best U12: Joshua Soanes (Witney) 4

Best U10: Freddie Beneat(Witney Juniors) 4

Best slow starter - 0/2: Neil Staples (Banbury)) 6.5

Best very slow starter - 0/4: Ian Gilders (Witney) 5

We are grateful to everyone who helped make the event a success, especially: Rose Hill Methodist Church for allowing us the use of the downstairs Hall for the event;the Kidlington Chess Tournament for the loan of the equipment we used; those who kindly donated prizes;those who made donations to the Lester Millin Memorial Fund;John Taylor, Will Burt, and Priscilla Morris for particular assistance with the transporting of equipment and setting up;Rob Harvey for manning the wallcharts and keeping the results up to date round by round;the many people who helped clear up afterwards;and especially our controllers Tim Dickinson and Priscilla Morris, for their usual calm and efficient running of the event.

Gerard O'Reilly (24 June 2015)

2014 Cowley Christmas Blitz

The 2014 Cowley Christmas Blitz
was held on Monday 1 December and attracted a total of 48 players. A
closely contested event was eventually by Mark Hannon of Witney Chess
Club with 8.5 out of 10, half a point ahead of Phil Hayward (Oxford
City), Graham McInnes (Didcot), and Cowley's own Will Burt.

The
full list of prizewinners and their scores is as follows:

1st:
Mark Hannon (Witney)
8.5/10

2nd:
Phil Hayward (Oxford City)
8

3rd=:
Graham McInnes (Didcot), Will Burt (Cowley)
8

Best
Cowley player: Nick Burrows
7.5

Best
visitor: Graham Cole (MCS/Blackbirds)
7.5

Best
junior (U18): Daniel Varney (Cumnor)
6.5

Best
lady: Maria Mate (Cowley)
6.5

Best
U165: Elizaveta Sheremetyeva (Witney)
6.5

Best
Cowley U155: Geoff Rasell
6

Best
visitor U155: Neil Staples (Banbury)
6

Best
U14: Oscar Idle (Cowley)
5

Best
U145: Mark Sayers (Cumnor)
6

Best
U130: Andrew Webb (Didcot)
5

Best
ungraded: Stephi Bourliakas
4

Best
U12: Joshua Soanes (Witney)
4

Best
U10: Freddie Beneat(Cumnor)
5.5

Best
slow starter - 0/2: Gary Reynolds (Didcot)
5

Best
very slow starter - 0/4: Alan Flockton (Cumnor) 3

Special 'Best
147': Andrew Varney & Liam Glenn (Cumnor) 6

The coincidence of having several
entrants graded 147 with the UK Snooker Championships currently taking place prompted
Controller Tim Dickinson to award a special 'Best 147' prize!

We
are grateful to everyone who helped make the event a success,
especially:

Rose Hill Methodist Church for allowing us the use of
the downstairs Hall for the event;

the Kidlington Chess Congress for
the loan of the equipment we used;

those
who kindly donated prizes;

John
Taylor, Dave Robson, and Will Burt for particular assistance with the
transporting of equipment and setting up;

Freddie
Beneat & Daniel Varney for their help in entering results
on the wallcharts;

the
many people who helped clear up afterwards;

and especially our
controllers Tim Dickinson and Priscilla Morris, for their calm and
efficient running of the event.

Gerard O'Reilly (2 December 2014)

2014 Cowley Summer Blitz

The 2013 Cowley Summer Blitz was held on
Monday 23 June and attracted 49 players, a very pleasing turnout bearing in mind opposition both from Wimbledon and the World Cup. It looked a wide open event in the absence of Marcus
Harvey, but Jonathan Manley of Oxford City ran out as clear winner, winning every game and finishing a clear two points ahead of Didcot's Graham McInnes and Cowley's Will Burt.The
Prizegiving for the OCA season just finished was held between Rounds 2 and 3, with Chair
Simon King making the presentations. The Lester Millin trophy
(for the best performance by a junior in any division of the league) again went to Alex Keane of MCS/Blackbirds.

2013 Cowley Christmas Blitz

The
2013 Cowley Christmas Blitz was held on Monday 2
December with 36 participants. Marcus Harvey of Witney Chess Club dominated, winning with a perfect 10/10 score. The full list of prizewinners is as follows:

2013 Cowley Summer Blitz

The 2013 Cowley Summer Blitz was held on Monday 24 June and attracted an excellent total of 60 players. Marcus Harvey was unable to extend his sequence of three successive Cowley Blitz wins, and this time the Oxford University player Jan Schmidt (a newcomer to the Cowley Blitz) took first place, after beating Rick Weston of Witney who was leading after four rounds with 8/8.

The Prizegiving for the OCA was held between Rounds 1 & 2, with Chair Simon King making the presentations. This year the Lester Millin trophy (for the best performance by a junior in any division of the league) was presented for the first time, and went to Alex Keane of MCS/Blackbirds.

2012 Cowley Christmas blitz

The 2012 Cowley Christmas Blitz, held on Monday 10 December, attracted 48 participants, one more than last year, and was again won by Marcus Harvey (now of Witney Chess Club), though only on tie-break from Cowley's Will Burt, who also scored 8.5/10. Half a point back, on 8 points, were Jon Manley (Oxford City) and Csaba Koszta. The two most remarkable episodes I witnessed were a blistering attack by John Taylor in which he brilliantly and entirely soundly sacrificed a rook and then a bishop to bring about a forced mate (a finish to be proud of at any time limit), and the second of the last round games between Will Burt and Jon Manley, in which the latter's endgame technique surprisingly proved insufficient to mate efficiently enough with king and rook against king to beat flagfall, so that the game ended in a draw. (See the YouTube video taken by Sean Terry to which there is a link on the News page of this site.)

2012 Cowley summer blitz

The 2012 Cowley Summer Blitz was held on Monday 25 June, with an excellent turnout of 56 players taking part. We were also very pleased to be hosting the County Association's prizegiving during a short break after the second round, when Chairman Alan Kennedy (whom we congratulate on winning the 'Best Visiting Player U155' prize in the Blitz) presented the trophies for the teams winning the four divisions of the League and the Frank Wood Shield last season, as well as for the individuals with the best performances in each division.

The night belonged to Marcus Harvey of Bicester Chess Club. Not only was he presented with the prize for the best individual performance in the top division of the League, but in the Blitz itself he repeated his success in last year's Christmas event, winning this time by a clear point with 9/10, ahead of five players tied on 8 points.

2011 Cowley Christmas blitz

The 2011 Cowley Christmas Blitz was held on Monday 19 December, with 47 players taking part.Marcus Harvey (Bicester) repeated his success in the 2009 Christmas event, with 9.5 points out of 10, again winning by a margin of 1.5 points. Cowley's Heather Lang took second place, with Csaba Koszta and Maria Wang half a point further back on 7.5. It proved to be a notably good night for families. Among the prizewinners were Cowley's Maria and Anna Wang (no surprise there), as well as Graham and James Cole (MCS/Blackbirds), and the Cumnor Chess Club trio of Varneys (Andrew, Daniel, and Zoe), with 12-year-old Zoe scoring an outstanding 7 points out of 10 to take the Best Junior prize.

2011 Cowley summer blitz

The 2011 Cowley Summer Blitz was held on Monday 13 June. A total of 44 players took part. An even more closely fought contest than in last December's Christmas Blitz resulted in a five-way tie for first place on 8 points out of 10, including three of the four players who tied for first place then. On the tie-break first prize went to David Zakarian of Cowley again. The full list of
prizewinners is as follows:

The 2010 Cowley Christmas Blitz was held on Monday 13 December, with an excellent turnout of 52 players. A very closely fought contest resulted in a four-way tie on 8 points out of 10, including the winners of the two previous Blitzes. The tie-break was based on grading performance. The full list of prizewinners is as follows:

Czaba Koszta won with a perfect 10/10 score by a margin of no less than three points. Bicester's Marcus Harvey, the winner of the previous event just before Christmas, was among the distant runners-up on 7/10.The full list of prizewinners is as follows:

The 2009 Cowley Christmas Blitz was held on Thursday 17 December. 32 players competed, the figure being somewhat affected by the weather.Our thanks go to all who came to play, to those who kindly donated the prizes, those who helped with the organization (with entries, with the loan, transport, and setting up of equipment, etc.), and especially to Tim Dickinson, who controlled the event in style as usual.

Young Marcus Harvey of Bicester Chess Club emerged as the clear winner with 9.5 points out of 10, one-and-a-half points ahead of the rest of the field. The prizewinners were as follows:

The Summer 2009 edition of the Cowley Blitz was held on Monday 29 June.44 players competed. Jochen Wittmann (formerly of Oxford City, now of King's Head in London) was the runaway winner this time by a clear two points. The prizewinners were as follows: